Ranji Trophy round-up: Assam close in on outright win against Delhi; Raina's unbeaten 145 puts UP in control

Assam eyeing third win, need 95 more runs to topple Delhi

Guwahati: Assam need 95 more runs to register their third consecutive win after the hosts reached 70 for three in their pursuit of 165-run target set by Delhi at stumps on the third and penultimate day of their Group A Ranji Trophy cricket match on Tuesday.

After drawing with defending champions Karnataka, Assam beat former back-to-back winners Rajasthan by an innings, and then toppled Haryana at home in Lahli and are now on the cusp of beating Delhi.

Assam still have seven wickets in hand to overwhelm Delhi’s target with opener Rahul Hazarika batting on 30 in the company of AB Arun Karthik (13 not out), who made vital 81 in the hosts’ first innings.

But all the credit must go to Assam bowlers, who after wrapping Delhi for 149 in the first innings, bundled out the visitors for another below-par 172 in the second essay.

Resuming at the overnight score of 101 for four, Delhi last seven wickets contributed just 71 runs with spin duo of Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad (3/49) and Amit Verma (3/42) inflicting bulk of the damage.

Paceman Krishna Das (2/32) and skipper Gokul Sharma (2/17) also chipped in with wickets to help their side’s cause.

Overnight batsmen Pulkit Narang (26 not out) and Milind Kumar (20) got starts but apart from them Delhi’s middle and lower order struggled against the spin duo of Syed Mohammad and Verma.

In their quest for 165 runs, Assam lost opener Pallav Kumar Das, Swarupam Purkyastha and Verma but Hazarika and Arun Karthik are holding the fort for the hosts.

Manan Sharma (1/11), Navdeep Saini (1/18) and Pradeep Sangwan (1/24) picked up a wicket each for Delhi.

Brief Scores: Delhi: 149 & 172 all out in 83.2 overs (Unmukt Chand 44, Dhruv Shorey 38; Amit Verma 3/42, Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad 3/49).

Assam: 157 & 70 for three in 32 overs (Rahul Hazarika 30 not out; Manan Sharma 1/11).

Wakaskar hits patient ton to lead Railways fightback against Mumbai

Mumbai: Opener Saurabh Wakaskar batted patiently to score an unbeaten century and lead Railways’ fightback after they conceded a 114-run first innings lead to Mumbai on day three of their Group B Ranji Trophy game on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old left-handed former Baroda batsman, who moved to Western Railway after getting a job as a clerk at the beginning of this season, batted for nearly the entire day to remain unbeaten with 161 off 260 balls to help Railways end the penultimate day at 285 for 1, an overall lead of 171 runs.

Wakaskar, whose career-best in 27 games so-far is 172 made for Baroda, was given splendid support by fellow-opener Ashish Singh (44) when Railways began their second innings after leg spinner Karn Sharma took out the last Mumbai wicket this morning to finish with fine figures of 7 for 91.

Wakaskar and Ashish Singh put on 105 runs for the first wicket before the latter was trapped leg before by Mumbai left arm orthodox slow bowler Vishal Dabholkar.

The team went to lunch at 110 for 1 after Wakaskar, whose previous highest for the season was 93 against Gujarat, was joined by one-down Vairamudi Cheluvaraj, who remained unconquered at close with a sedate 70.

Wakaskar, who hit 15 fours and 2 sixes during his 351-minute stay, and the diminutive Cheluvaraj, who batted for six minutes under four hours, then denied Mumbai any wicket for the entire last two sessions to give Railways an outside chance of forcing a win on Wednesday.

The second-wicket duo has put on 180 runs in 343 balls so far on the slow-paced wicket, in the process also exposing the fraility and lack of penetration of the home team’s attack.

Mumbai took the new ball after 82 overs when the total was 269 for 1, but neither batsman was troubled.

In the morning, the hosts added just one run to their overnight total of 330 for 9, with Nikhil Patil remaining unbeaten on 83.

Brief scores: Railways 217 and 285 for 1 (S Wakaskar not out 161, Ashish Singh 44, V Cheluvaraj not out 70). Mumbai 331 all out (A Herwadkar 145, S Iyer 57, N Patil 83 not out; K Sharma 7 for 91).

Raina ton gives UP control on Day three

Kanpur: Skipper Suresh Raina smashed an unbeaten 145 as Uttar Pradesh declared their second innings on 273 for five to gain complete control against Tamil Nadu on Day 3 of the Group B Ranji Tropphy cricket match on Tuesday.

Chasing a mammoth 391 to win the four-day encounter at the Green Park, Tamil Nadu were 5 for no loss at stumps with skipper Abhinav Mukund (3 batting) and Baba Aparajith (batting).

After bundling out the visitors for 231, the UP top-order got down to business right away with opener Almas Shaukat (75) and Raina stitching up a 138-run second-wicket partnership.

The left-hander went on score his 14th first-class century and stayed a the crease for 138 balls, his innings laced with 9 fours and 6 sixes.

Looking to notch up an outright win, Raina declared the innings and invited the visitors to bat in the dying moments of the day in a hope to get an early breakthrough.

Earlier starting the day on 174 for six in reply to the home team’s score of 348, Tamil Nadu lower-order could not last long though No.9 batsman Malolan Rangarajan scored a gutsy 45. Vijay Shankar remained the top-scorer with 92 ruyns.

UP pace spearhead Praveen Kumar was the wrecker-in-chief with a four-wicket haul, while medium-pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and left-arm spinner Suarabh Kumar bagged two wickets apiece.

Brief Scores: Uttar Pradesh 348 and 273/5 dec (Suresh Raina 145 not out, Almas Shaukat 75; Baba Aparajith 2-73)

Tamil Nadu 231 and 5/0 in 8 overs (Abhinav Mukund 3 batting, Baba Aparajith 0 batting; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 0-4).

Odisha eye bonus-point win against Haryana

Lahli: Odisha opened up the possibility of a bonus-point win after forcing Haryana to follow-on and take a big first-innings lead in their Group A Ranji Trophy cricket match on Tuesday.

In reply to Odisha’s mammoth first-innings total of 529 for six declared, Haryana were bowled out for 216 at the Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium.

Forced to follow-on, the hosts were 46 for one in their second innings when the stumps were drawn on the third and penultimate day’s play.

Nitin Saini (25) and Chaitanya Bishnoi (11) were at the crease at the crease at close of play.

In their first innings, Saini top-scored for the hosts with 51 off 146 balls. Opener Saini was the only batsman who have managed to compile a half century. Jayant Yadav was the second best scorer with 46 off 100 balls. The others, such as Rishi Dewan, Sachin Rana and Priyank Tehlan, got starts but could not carry on.

Basant Mohanty (3/51), Suryakant Pradhan (3/53) and Dhiraj Singh (2/22) were the main wicket-takers for Odisha.

Haryana trailed the visiting side by 267 runs with nine second-innings wickets remaining, and have the tough task of saving the match when play resumes on the final day on Wednesday.

Services take first-innings lead over Hyderabad

New Delhi: Services bowlers led by Diwesh Pathania bundled out Hyderabad for 272 to give their team a healthy 81-run first innings lead on the third and penultimate day of their Ranji Trophy Group C cricket tie on Tuesday.

At stumps, however, Services were themselves struggling at 77 for three. But they have managed to extend their overall lead by 158 runs.

Replying to Services’ first innings score of 353, Hyderabad on Tuesday resumed on 144 for no loss with the openers Tanmay Agarwal, on overnight 47, and Akshath Reddy, on 89, completing their respective half-century and hundred each.

While Reddy hit a 261-ball 125 studded with 21 fours, Agarwal’s 50 came off 184 deliveries. The duo also put on a crucial 151-run stand for the opening wicket to lay a solid platform for the visitors.

But the openers’ dismissal triggered a collapse and the last six wickets fell for just 62 runs.

For Services, Pathania chipped in with figures of three for 63, while Raushan Raj (2/65) and Muzzaffaruddin Khalid (2/43) took two wickets each.

In their second essay, Hyderabad got off to a poor start, losing three early wickets.

Brief scores: Services: 353 & 77 for three (Ravi Kiran 2/33).

Hyderabad 1st innings: 272 (Akshath Reddy 125, Tanmay Agarwal 50; Diwesh Pathania 3/63).

Rajkot: Middle-order batsman Jaydev Shah cracked an unbeaten 96 as Saurashtra reached 261 for 6 in their first innings on the third day against Himachal Pradesh in their Group C Ranji Trophy match at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Tuesday.

After HP posted a mammoth first innings total of 551 on Monday, Saurashtra resumed their reply at 21 for no loss with overnight openers Mohsin Dodia and Avi Barot restarting their innings.

Barot was the first to go in the second ball of the morning when he was caught by Vasisht off Dhawan’s bowling. Sagar Jogiyani (10) tried to give company to Dodia but he was sent packing by Vasisht with wicketkeeper Bains taking the catch.

Dadia then joined hands with Shah and helped Saurashtra cross the 100-mark but they soon lost two quick wickets in the 44th adn 45th overs to see the side slip to 107 for four.

While Bipul Sharma trapped Dodia infront of wicket, Chauhan cleaned up Sheldon Jackson (1) in the next over.

Chirag Jani (56) and Shah then added 54 runs before the former was sent back to the hut by Vasisht with Gangta taking the catch.

New man Deepak Punia then became a victim of Dhawan in the 93rd over.

The hosts thus scored 240 runs losing six wickets and they are still 290 runs behind HP with four wickets remaining in their first innings.

Shah (96) and Saurya Sanandiya (5) were at the crease when the stumps were drawn.

Brief Score: Himachal Pradesh 1st innings: 551

Saurashtra 1st innings: 261 for six in 99 overs (JN Shah 96 not out; R Dhawan 2/39).

Kerala post an innings and 83 runs win over Goa

Porvorim: S Sandeep Warrier returned a rich match-haul of nine wickets to help Kerala post an innings and 83 runs win over Goa and earn a bonus point on the penultimate day of their Ranji Trophy Group C cricket match on Tuesday.

Kerala earned seven points from Tuesday’s victory and have taken their overall tally to 19 points from seven ties.

In reply to Kerala’s massive first innings total of 441, Goa resumed at 81 for two on Tuesday and immediately lost both their overnight batsmen.

Goa then kept losing wickets at regular intervals with Warrier wreaking havoc. He ended with figures of six for 44 as the hosts fell for 191, conceding 258-run first innings lead.

Following on, Goa once again succumbed to medium pacer Warrior, who took three for 31 in the second innings.

Goa finally were all out for 167 in the second essay with Warrier returning match figures of nine for 75.

Brief scores: Kerala: 441

Goa: 191 (Amogh Desai 38; S Sandeep Warrier 6/44) & 167 (Prasanth Parameswaran 38; Sandeep Warrier 3/31).

Tripathi leads Maharashtra’s fightback with century

Pune: Rahul Tripathi (116) hit his third first class century and shared an unbeaten 139-run stand with Ankit Bawne (59) to lead Maharashtra’s fight back in their Ranji Trophy Group A match against Bengal on Tuesday.

Bengal declared their first innings at overnight score of 528 for eight at the start of the day and the hosts batted with resolve, ending the day at 296 for three.

They are still trailing by 232 runs and have a task at hand to avoid conceding first innings lead.

Bengal paceman Ashoke Dinda removed Harshad Khadiwale (5) in the fifth over of the day but Swapnil Gugale (35) and Sangram Atitkar (69) added 56 runs for the second wicket.

Mukesh Kumar trapped Gugale to break the stand but the hosts endured another strong partnership of 90 runs between Atitkar and Tripathi.

Dinda dismissed Atitkar but Tripathi continued to bat impressively in the company of Bawne. The hosts did not lose any wicket in the final session of the day.

Tripathi has hit 13 fours and two sixes in his 227-ball knock so far.

Brief Scores: Bengal 1st innings: 528/8d

Maharashtra 1st innings: 296 for 3 in 90 overs.(R Tripathi 116 batting, S Atitkar 69; A Dinda 2/77).

Rajasthan 226-9 in 2nd inngs, after Vidarbha post 247 on day three

Nagpur: Aditya Sarwate (50) completed his fifty before returning with a four-wicket haul as Vidarbha posted 247 in their first innings and then reduced Rajasthan to 226 for nine on the penultimate day of their Group A Ranji Trophy match on Tuesday.

Resuming their first innings at 202 for 6, Vidarbha folded for 247 in 99.3 overs at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground.

Overnight batsman Sarwate (50) added eight runs to complete his fifty but then became a victim of Tanveer-Ul-Haq (4/60), while Ravi Jangid (36) too could not stay longer as he was dismissed after four overs by Tanveer with Menaria taking the catch.

Bhatia then moped up the tail, removing Umesh Yadav (10) and Akshay Wakhare (2).

Having conceded a first innings lead, Rajasthan made a watchful start to their second innings but soon Wakhare dismissed opener Pranay Sharma (14) and Sarwate then got rid of Puneet Yadav (8) as they slipped to 40 for two.

Vineet Saxena and Ashok Menaria (76) then joined hands and added 110 runs as the visitors reached 150. But just then skipper Maneria was dismissed by Jangid and Sarwate picked up the newman Rajat Bhatia (3) cheaply.

Jangid then dealt further blow, removing Saxena with Wasim Jaffer taking the match as Rajasthan lost half their side and lost their way.

Jangid (3/31) then dismissed Siddharth Dobal (7), while Wakhare (2/78) removed Dishant Yagnik (16) as Rajasthan slumped to 190 for seven in 63.5 overs.

Sarwate then snapped Tanveer (9) and Nathu Singh (0) within a space for four balls.

At the draw of stumps, K Ajay Singh (21) and Aniket Choudhary (2) were at the crease with Rajasthan leading by 195 runs with one wicket remaining.

Brief Score: Rajasthan 216 & 226/9 in 78 overs (A Menaria 76; A Sarwate 4/58)

Vidarbha 247 allout in 99.3 overs (A Sarwate 50; Tanveer-Ul-Haq 4/60).

Baroda thrash Punjab by an innings and 116 runs

Vadodara: Baroda inflicted a massive innings and 116 runs defeat on Punjab on the back of an impressive pace-bowling performance on the third day of their Ranji Trophy cricket match on Tuesday.

The home side bowlers, led by India discards Irfan Pathan and Munaf Patel, took 17 Punjab wickets after the visiting side were asked to follow on to wrap up the match with one day remaining at the Moti Bagh Stadium.

The pressure was piling on Punjab after they resumed the day on 112 for 3 in reply to Baroda first innings total of 475 and the visiting side made a mess of their batting to be all out for 212 to concede a 263-run lead.

Irfan added another wicket to his overnight two while Munaf got two more on Tuesday. Another pacer Hardik Pandya, who also had scored 59 in Baroda first innings, grabbed three wickets for a fine all-round show.

For Punjab, only Uday Kaul (58) could score a half century while another India discard Yuvraj Singh was the second highest scorer for Punjab with a 116-ball 43. Captain Harbhajan Singh made seven.

Following on, Punjab did even worse in their second innings than their first essay, getting all out for 147 in just 38.4 overs to lose the match by a huge margin and hand Baroda a bonus point.

Number nine batsman Siddarth Kaul was the highest scorer with an unbeaten 40 from 42 balls. Yuvraj flopped again as he made just 11 runs.

Irfan and Munaf shared the spoils again with three wickets apiece while Yusuf Pathan got two. Both Irfan and Munaf ended with six wickets apiece in the match.

Baroda secured seven points from the win while Punjab got none.

Brief Score: Baroda: 475 (Kedar Devdhar 186, Aditya Waghmode 96, Hardik Pandya 59, Pinal Shah 55; Deepak Bansal 3/57)

Punjab: 212 & 147 in 38.4 overs (Siddarth Kaul 40 not out; Irfan Pathan 3/19, Munaf Patel 3/19).

Nadeem’s six for takes Jharkhand close to an innings win

Agartala: Captain Shahbaz Nadeem captured his second five-wicket haul of the season to leave Jharkhand on the verge of an innings victory over Tripura at the end of third and penultimate day’s play in a Group C Ranji Trophy cricket match on Tuesday.

Jharkhand, who were already at a commanding position on 296 for three when the day began, rode on Ishank Jaggi’s (102 not out) maiden hundred of the season, and his 166-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Kumar Deobrat (63) to amass 394 for four in 113 overs before declaring their first innings.

Jaggi stroked 14 fours during his 153-ball unbeaten knock, while Deobrat’s 63 featured 10 boundaries.

Coming out to bat in their second innings, Tripura needed to post at least 228 to make Jharkhand bat again, but just like their first innings, the hosts failed to forge any partnerships and lost wickets at regular intervals to reel at 132 for nine in 49 overs at stumps.

With Tripura reduced to 110 for nine, Jharkhand had three overs to take the last wicket and wrap up the win inside three days, but the final pair of Tushar Saha and Abhijit Sarkar held firm, forcing the match into the final day.

Manisankar Murasingh top-scored for Tripura with a 69-ball 52.

Brief Scores: Tripura: 166 & 132 for nine in 49 overs (Manisankar Murasingh 52; Shahbaz Nadeem 6/35).

Jharkhand: 394 for four decl in 113 overs (Ishank Jaggi 102 not out, Saurabh Tiwary 94, Anand Singh 91; Manisankar Murasingh 2/89).

Saxena’s 6-wkt haul restricts Gujarat against MP

Surat: Off-spinner Jalaj Saxena continued with his impressive show as he picked up six wickets for 60 to help Madhya Pradesh bowl Gujarat out for 202 in their second innings on the third day of their Ranji Trophy cricket match on Tuesday.

The haul by Saxena, who took a record 16 wickets in the previous round, meant Madhya Pradesh were set a target of 314 to win the match.

The visitors played out two overs late in the day in their run chase without losing a wicket and scoring four runs. They need another 310 runs to win the match with all the second innings wickets in hand.

Madhya Pradesh added just 13 to their overnight score of 187 for 7 as they were bowled out for 200 in the first innings.

Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of Gujarat bowlers with figures of 3 for 21, while Naman Ojha top-scored for Madhya Pradesh with 56.

In their second innings, Gujarat, who had scored 311 in their first innings, declared at 202 for 9. None of the Gujarat batsmen came up with a substantial knock with Manpreet Juneja being the highest scorer with 41 as Saxena ran through their batting line-up.

Ankit Sharma took two wickets while Ishwar Pandey got one.

Brief Scores: Gujarat: 311 and 202 for 9 declared in 74.3 overs (Manpreet Juneja 41; Jalaj Saxena 6/60)

Madhya Pradesh: 200 all out in 80.2 overs (Naman Ojha 56; Jasprit Bumrah 3/46) & 4 for no loss in 2 overs.

PTI